only

A1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈoʊn.li/ UK /ˈəʊn.li/ See IPA manual

Freq #110

Meanings

1

adj
Being the single one of its kind; with no others.

He is the only doctor for miles.
2

adv
And no one or nothing more; just.

Call me only if your cold gets worse.
3

adv
As recently as; no earlier than.

I spoke to them only an hour ago.
4

adv
Used to show a disappointing or unexpected result.

I arrived on time only to find the bus had already left.
5

adj
Having no brothers or sisters.

He is an only child.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · being the single one of its... sole single

Word family

Derived forms ears-onlyeyes-onlyfreight-onlykjv-onlyeronlieronlinessonly-begottenonlybornonlyeronlyhoodprogestin-onlyprogestogen-only

Appears in

Phrases (3)

See all

only child
a child who has no siblings

Adjective + noun
only daughter
a female child with no sisters

Adjective + noun
only son
a male child with no brothers

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (47)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English oonly, only, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“only; singular; solitary”), from Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz. Cognate with obsolete Dutch eenlijk, German ähnlich (“similar”), Old Norse álíkr, Swedish enlig (“unified”). By surface analysis, on(e) + -ly. * Regarding the different phonological development of only and one, see the note in one.

oonly Middle English ānlīċ Old English *ainalīkaz Proto-Germanic

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Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# only

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj, adv
**IPA (US):** /ˈoʊn.li/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈəʊn.li/
**Frequency rank:** 110

## Meanings
1. Being the single one of its kind; with no others.
2. And no one or nothing more; just.
3. As recently as; no earlier than.
4. Used to show a disappointing or unexpected result.
5. Having no brothers or sisters.

## Examples
- He is the only doctor for miles.
- Call me only if your cold gets worse.
- I spoke to them only an hour ago.
- I arrived on time only to find the bus had already left.
- He is an only child.

## Derived Forms
- ears-only
- eyes-only
- freight-only
- kjv-onlyer
- onlier
- onliness
- only-begotten
- onlyborn
- onlyer
- onlyhood
- progestin-only
- progestogen-only

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: oonly
- Root: ānlīċ
- Root: *ainalīkaz

## Etymology
From Middle English oonly, only, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“only; singular; solitary”), from Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz. Cognate with obsolete Dutch eenlijk, German ähnlich (“similar”), Old Norse álíkr, Swedish enlig (“unified”). By surface analysis, on(e) + -ly. * Regarding the different phonological development of only and one, see the note in one.

## AI Etymology
Only comes from Middle English oonly, only, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“only; singular; solitary”), from Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz. Cognate with obsolete Dutch eenlijk, German ähnlich (“similar”), Old Norse álíkr, Swedish enlig (“unified”). By surface analysis, on(e) + -ly. Regarding the different phonological development of only and one, see the note in one. Modern senses include being the single one of its kind; with no others and and no one or nothing more; just. The wider word family includes derivatives such as ears-only, eyes-only, freight-only, kjv-onlyer, onlier, and onliness.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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